Sounders' Alonso named to MLS Best XI team

TUKWILA —Sounders FC defensive midfielder Osvaldo Alonso was named to the Major League Soccer Best XI team announced Monday.

Alonso, 27, was a key part of a Seattle defense that allowed the second-fewest goals (33) and shots on goal (122) in MLS, and recorded the third-most shutouts (12). He also recorded a goal and two assists, and led all Sounders with 2,688 minutes of league play.

It was Alonso's first time named to the team, which honors the top starting lineup available in the league. The team is determined by vote of club representatives, players and media. Alonso is a two-time MLS All-Star. He was named to the MLS team of the week four times and was named player of the tournament in the 2012 U.S. Open Cup.

He is the third Sounder named to a Best XI, joining Freddie Ljungberg in 2009 and Kasey Keller in 2011.

"I'm feeling so good," Alonso said through a club press release. "I think I did a good job this year playing for my team: being an All-Star and now Best XI. So, I'm feeling happy, and I enjoy this moment."

The Best XI was announced as part of commissioner Don Garber's "state of the league" address. Garber also said:

2012 was the most-successful season in league history, citing record attendance, increased broadcast presence on NBC and NBCSN, and expansion into Montreal. He said attendance is up more than 25 percent since 2005, and the 114 sellouts this season are a league record. There also were six crowds of 50,000 or more (three of those in Seattle).

Sounders' midfielder Eddie Johnson's return to MLS was one of the league's top stories.

Since Los Angeles midfielder David Beckham came to the league in 2007, MLS has added seven franchises and 10 soccer stadiums, and the expansion fee jumped from $10 million for Toronto in 2007 to $40 million for Montreal last season. Beckham recently announced that he will end his MLS playing career after the MLS Cup on Saturday.

The 2013 season will begin March 2. Some First Kick innovations will be announced soon.

The 2013 schedule and playoff format will remain the same as in 2012.

There also is no planned change for the Designated Player rules, although the salary cap will increase as called for in the collective bargaining agreement.Flushing Meadows, N.Y., remains the most likely spot for a 20th MLS franchise, perhaps in 2016. Garber also cited Miami, Orlando and Minneapolis as eventual expansion possibilities if appropriate stadiums can be built. He repeated that "we need to be south of Washington, D.C.," and cited Florida as a logical place for at least one franchise.D.C. United seems to have "momentum" toward finding a replacement for RFK Stadium; however there is nothing new to report on the New England Revolution's hope for a downtown home.Garber said he has no problem with another pair of low-seeded teams — No. 5 Houston and No. 4 Los Angeles — meeting for the MLS Cup. The match will be played at 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The game will be shown on ESPN and will be available in a league-record 110 countries.